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Blue Jays' bats deliver two rallies for walk-off

Following solid start by Redmond, offense comes up big in ninth and 10th

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Todd Redmond went five innings on Sunday against the Orioles, allowing two runs to score in the fourth inning.

By Gregor Chisholm
/
MLB.com |

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- The Blue Jays used a pair of rallies on Sunday afternoon to claim a 4-3 walk-off win in 10 innings over the Orioles at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.

In the 10th, trailing, 3-2, Erik Kratz doubled and later scored on Dan Johnson's RBI single to tie the game at 3. Jonathan Diaz, who had walked after Kratz's double, advanced to second on Johnson's knock and came home as the game-winner on Josh Thole's groundout.

Steve Clevenger and Ryan Flaherty had a pair of RBI doubles to lead the Orioles' offense. Both doubles came in the fourth inning off Toronto right-hander Todd Redmond. Adam Jones, who made his return to Baltimore's lineup following a brief absence, started the rally with an infield single. Clevenger and Flaherty then doubled to open the scoring.

Outside of that one inning, Redmond was effective on the mound. He allowed four hits and one walk while striking out four as he attempted to remain under consideration for a spot in the Blue Jays' rotation. Redmond has allowed nine earned runs in 16 innings this spring, and he appears to have an inside track for a job either in the rotation or the bullpen.

"I had one little bit of a rough inning, but was able to get out of it with minimal damage and was able to get my pitches back down to where they needed to be," Redmond said. "Had one pitch that came back over the middle, the Clevenger double, Flaherty, we wanted to get that slider down and away, and it just stayed up over the plate. That was the difference between no runs and two runs."

Jones went 1-for-2 with a single, a walk and a run. It was his first game back since he temporarily departed the team to attend the birth of his first child. He has two hits in 16 at-bats this spring and has yet to record an RBI.

Gonzalez finished the fourth inning to complete his start. He allowed five hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out three in his fourth appearance of the spring. Jose Bautista was one of the bright spots on offense for Toronto as he went 2-for-4 and nearly had an RBI in the bottom of the seventh inning, but catcher Dioner Navarro was thrown out at home.

In the bottom of the ninth, Toronto led off the frame with four straight singles to tie the game at 2 and send it to extras. Daniel Alvarez's home run in the 10th inning gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead.

Up next: Left-hander Ricky Romero will get the start when the Blue Jays visit the Tigers on Tuesday at 1:05 p.m. ET in Lakeland, Fla., available live on an exclusive webcast. Romero is a long shot to make the rotation, but he could theoretically enter the mix with a strong outing against Detroit. This will be Romero's first start of the spring and his first real opportunity to face an opposing team's best hitters. Right-hander Marcus Stroman also is scheduled to pitch.